United States

China

Japan

North Korea

South Korea

Russia

Military & Security

Politics

North Korea's Workers' Party reelected Kim Jong Un as general secretary at its ongoing ninth Party congress, which has so far focused on strengthening North Korea's "war deterrence" centered on nuclear weapons capacity, Yonhap News Agency reported on Feb. 23. 

North Korea: Kim Reaffirmed as Party Chief, Nuclear Policy Entrenched

Economics

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gave a speech outlining her policies on Feb. 20 to open a special session of the Diet that will last through July 17, according to a readout from the prime minister's office.

Japan: Takaichi Outlines Policy Plans for 2026

Vietnam

North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong Un gave a speech on Feb. 20 in Pyongyang to open the Workers' Party of Korea's quinquennial party congress, which North Korea's KCNA said began on Feb. 19.

North Korea: Kim Commences Quinquennial Party Congress

Indonesia

Thailand

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto signed the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade with the United States, lowering U.S. tariffs on most Indonesian exports from a threatened 32% to 19% in exchange for Indonesia eliminating tariffs on roughly 99% of U.S. exports and easing nontariff barriers such as import licensing and local content rules, according to a readout from the Office of the United States Trade Representative published Feb. 20.

Indonesia, U.S.: 19% Tariff Deal Includes Third Country 'Poison Pill' Safeguard

Brazil

India

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

After attending the India AI Impact Summit, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will hold bilateral talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Feb. 21, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 19.

India, Brazil: Lula Is Set To Meet Modi Amid Negotiations on Critical Minerals and Rare Earths

Taiwan

U.S.-China Relations

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt on Feb. 18 declined to comment on a reporter's question about U.S. President Donald Trump's claim on Feb. 16 that he had talked to Chinese President Xi Jinping about arms sales to Taiwan and that they would make a determination on the matter soon, the South China Morning Post reported on Feb. 19. 

U.S., Taiwan, China: Trump Considering Delaying Arms Sales to Taiwan

Philippines

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte announced that she will seek the presidency in 2028, and she renewed accusations of corruption and misrule against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., AP reported on Feb. 18.

Philippines: Vice President Announces Presidential Run Amid Impeachment Proceedings 

The Indonesian government launched a sweeping review of mining and plantation permits, saying many were improperly issued, and has now seized more than 4 million hectares of land while imposing fines totaling $1.7 billion, AP reported on Feb. 18.

Indonesia: Government Seizes Nickel Assets Amid EV Market Shift

Assessments

Iran

Germany

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press Feb. 2 in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump will deliver the annual State of the Union address to Congress on Feb. 24.

U.S.-Iran Relations

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Trump Threatens Iran, Pledges To Reimpose Tariffs on Different Grounds

Snapshots

Canada

Mexico

Europe

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing at the White House on Feb. 20, 2026, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Trump's use of emergency powers to implement international trade tariffs.

Global Trade

The Trump administration will use other trade authorities to replace many of the IEEPA tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court, meaning U.S. trading partners will remain incentivized to engage on trade matters.

What the Supreme Court Tariff Ruling Means for Trump and U.S. Trading Partners

Russian soldiers wear chemical protection suits as they stand next to a military fueler on the base of a prime mover of Russian Topol intercontinental ballistic missile during a training session at the Serpukhov's military missile forces research institute some 100km outside Moscow on April 6, 2010.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Over time, this will intensify an ongoing buildup of nuclear capabilities across the globe and make crises involving nuclear powers more unpredictable and prone to miscalculations. 


Implications of the Last Major U.S.-Russian Nuclear Arms Control Agreement's Expiration

Zhang Youxia, senior vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC), attends the opening of the fourth plenary session of the National People's Congress on March 11, 2023, in Beijing, China. 

The removal of Xi's closest military ally signals an acceleration of his push to eliminate internal threats and heightens uncertainty about the president's decision-making on Taiwan, potentially raising the risk of future conflict.

China's High-Level Military Purge Raises Risk of a Miscalculation on Taiwan

Israel

Palestinian Territories

United Kingdom

Egyptian trucks and heavy machinery on Oct. 26, 2025, on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: A Gaza Border Reopening, EU Leaders Visit India

Columns

On Geopolitics

U.S. protectionism has dramatically weakened the rules-based, multilateral trade regime established after World War II, driving governments to increasingly view trade through a national security lens rather than purely an economic one.

The Geopolitics of Trade: Conclusion

Venezuela

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (right) and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil (left) attend a meeting in Beijing on May 12, 2025.

U.S. pressure on the new Venezuelan government will briefly cool China's engagement in Latin America and could renew trade tensions with Washington, though Maduro's removal is unlikely to affect China's calculus regarding Taiwan.

Assessing China's Response to the U.S. Capture of Venezuela's Maduro

Nigeria

Colombia

Cuba

Greenland

Norway

Ukraine

Pakistan

Cyber

Social Issues

RANE's Top 10 Risks for 2026 highlights high-impact, low-probability risks and trends from the annual forecast presented in more extreme terms.

RANE's Top 10 Risks for 2026

Benin

Uganda

Denmark

The Greenlandic flag on Jan. 8, 2026, on the roof of Tivoli Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark. Ukraine security talks and a Gaza peace plan will be in the spotlight at Davos.

The Weekly Rundown: Elections in Uganda and Benin, Canada's Carney Goes to China

Media

Forecast Webcast

Energy

Join our analysts for this webcast recording exploring key topics identified in RANE's 2026 Annual Geopolitical Forecast.

2026 Annual Geopolitical Forecast Webcast

The Danish-flagged DMS Lauge Koch, an offshore Royal Danish Navy patrol vessel, docks at the Port of Nuuk on March 12, 2025, in Nuuk, Greenland.

Scenarios for the coming year range from unilateral military action by the United States to a U.S.-Denmark agreement to expand Washington's capabilities on the island.


How Could the U.S. Seek To 'Take' Greenland?

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates

Yemen

A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B fighter jet takes off from Jose Aponte de la Torre Airport on December 15, 2025 in Ceiba, Puerto Rico. If U.S. strikes escalate and cause significant casualties, it could make retaliatory measures -- including the arbitrary detention of U.S. citizens in Venezuela or the harassment of energy sector vessels in the region -- more likely.

The Weekly Rundown: South Korea's President Visits Beijing, U.S. Operations in Venezuela

<p>China is situated on the eastern third of the Eurasian landmass, between Russia, mainland Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia. Its more than 9,000 mile-long coastline abuts the Yellow, East and South China Seas. China is a country of deep geographic divisions. Most fundamental is the split between its fertile eastern lowlands and the arid, sparsely populated highlands that enclose the lowlands like a shell. More than a billion people live in the ethnic Han Chinese core, making it one of the most densely populated places on Earth. Traditionally, threats to China&#39;s Han core originated in the borderlands. To guard against overland invasion, successive Chinese rulers have sought to push the Core&#39;s borders outward &mdash;integrating these highlands as strategic &quot;buffer&quot; zones. These zones form a shield, protecting and containing the core. To be secure, China must control the buffer regions. But maintaining control of the regions, in turn, requires a strong and united core. And that means overcoming immense internal divisions &mdash; not only between northern and southern regions orbiting the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, but also between smaller regional units, each with their own geography, history, dialect and interests. Chinese history is defined by cycles of unity and fragmentation, from periods when a strong Han core captures and holds the surrounding buffers to those when a weak core breaks into its constituent parts, loses internal coherence and cedes control of the borderlands. This pattern, rooted in China&#39;s geography, has played out with remarkable consistency. By comparison, China&#39;s maritime interests have remained mostly limited to coastal waters. Today, however, growing international trade and rising Chinese reliance on overseas resources threaten to alter the pattern, adding a new maritime dimension to the struggle for buffer space &mdash; and potentially upending the long-standing dynamics of China&#39;s geographic challenge.</p>

SITUATION REPORTS

North Korea: Kim Reaffirmed as Party Chief, Nuclear Policy Entrenched

Japan: Takaichi Outlines Policy Plans for 2026

North Korea: Kim Commences Quinquennial Party Congress

Indonesia, U.S.: 19% Tariff Deal Includes Third Country 'Poison Pill' Safeguard

India, Brazil: Lula Is Set To Meet Modi Amid Negotiations on Critical Minerals and Rare Earths

U.S., Taiwan, China: Trump Considering Delaying Arms Sales to Taiwan

Philippines: Vice President Announces Presidential Run Amid Impeachment Proceedings

Indonesia: Government Seizes Nickel Assets Amid EV Market Shift

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